Ofer Inbar's Comments

When Records Ruled : Turntables by George Corneliussen

May 19, 2006 | rating: 9.9 | comments: 89

Ofer Inbar May 19, 2006, 1:29pm EDT

There is one field where turntables are still the main market: hip-hop and techno DJ mixing & scratching. The few turntables still being made and sold new today are for this. That's great for radio stations that still have collections of thousands or tens of thousands of records. WBRS, the college/community station I was very active in for 15 years, has over 25,000 records, most of which may never come in CD form. We used Technics turntables, as of 2003 at least.

Someone asked why I like Boulder by Ofer Inbar

Apr 25, 2006 | rating: 9.5 | comments: 12

Ofer Inbar May 8, 2006, 12:47pm EDT

Thanks Ron!

How did you learn how I came by my name?

Making Email Useful by Ofer Inbar

Apr 26, 2006 | rating: 10 | comments: 3

Ofer Inbar Apr 27, 2006, 4:23pm EDT

I thought of that, but I don't think it's very smart. It's off-putting and disrespectful to users to make that decision for that reason, and if people suspect it is so, overall, it devalues Gather's brand. They want us to think that they want us to come here because we want to, not because they're playing tricks with us. People are smart enough to suspect the tricks. So, I give them the benefit of the doubt, and assume that's not the reason they're doing this.

Secondly, if you want to reply to a comment, you have to come back to the web site anyway. They could build in a way to reply to comments by email. LiveJournal actually does this. At that point, email becomes part of the two-way interactive system as much as the web site is. So either way, email promotes interaction. And more useful email promotes more interaction.

Today's Topic: Who is the "decider" in your household? by Gather Editorial Team

Apr 27, 2006 | rating: 9.3 | comments: 38

Ofer Inbar Apr 27, 2006, 12:38pm EDT

(I should add that Lakoff makes it clear that it's entirely possible for people to have their family life run by one model, but think about politics using the other model)

Today's Topic: Who is the "decider" in your household? by Gather Editorial Team

Apr 27, 2006 | rating: 9.3 | comments: 38

Ofer Inbar Apr 27, 2006, 12:35pm EDT

George Lakoff probably has something interesting to say about this.

In Moral Politics, he described his theory of how Americans make metaphors between politics and family. The conservative metaphor for how politics should work, is to a kind of family where there is a "decider" - usually the man, but it could be a woman. This strict parent holds the authority in the family, for the family's own good, and others defer to his decisions. The liberal metaphor for how politics should work is a different sort of family, where there isn't necessarily one parent whose authority the others always defer to.

Based on Lakoff's theory, Bush's "I'm the decider" comment is deeply ingrained in the conservative moral model of politics, and would have served as a signal to conservatives that "I'm one of you, I'm thinking like you" - even if they don't think of it consciously that way. But to people with a liberal moral model of politics, this same comment would seem ridiculous, and signal that Bush is out of touch, or childish.

Suggestion - Override Connection Type by Kevin (''The SiteWizard'') V.

Apr 26, 2006 | rating: 9 | comments: 5

Ofer Inbar Apr 26, 2006, 1:04pm EDT

I was thinking about this last week, and sent an email about it to support@gather.com this weekend (no reply yet). I wonder, what do we gain from enforcing reciprocal connection types? Why can't I call someone my friend while they call me a colleague, or vice versa? If we allowed unidirectional connection types, it would be much simpler to allow each user to choose the types for all of their connections, without requiring approval by the users on the other ends of those connections.

So, is there a benefit to enforced reciprocal types? Would someone from Gather chime in and explain why it is this way? I'm genuinely curious to know - there might be a benefit, I just haven't thought of it.

News aka Infotainment by Anita D.

Apr 25, 2006 | rating: 9.9 | comments: 24

Ofer Inbar Apr 26, 2006, 11:56am EDT

In the early 90s, when I went to college and stopped watching much TV, I realized that TV news had crossed over into entertainment, and into its own bubble. It was around the same time that I got involved in my campus radio station and started listening to bluegrass, newage, reggae, industrial, and a variety of other music... and network news felt a lot like top-40 radio. It's own very narrow self-absorbed little bubble that was missing most of the world, but that could hook you into thinking you were getting a lot if it was all you relied on.

There's a lot of great journalism going on today, but you won't see it on the network newscasts. They're entertainment shows. They're supposed to make a profit (this wasn't the case in the first few decades of television) and don't get the budget or support to do serious news.

If you want news-entertainment, watch the Daily Show. They do a much better job.

For actual news, subscribe to The Atlantic and the Christian Science Monitor; listen to the BBC and NPR; read Global Voices Online and topic-specific blogs like Bruce Schneier, Juan Cole, and Talking Points Memo; and check out foreign newspapers covering the regions you're interested in: I recommend HaAretz for Israel & Palestine, for example - and American Family Radio for the Christian right (which to me is a foreign country I'm interested in getting good coverage of!)

Someone asked why I like Boulder by Ofer Inbar

Apr 25, 2006 | rating: 9.5 | comments: 12

Ofer Inbar Apr 25, 2006, 6:18pm EDT

Thanks David! I've driven through Loveland a few times because I have friends in Fort Collins and Longmont (well, on the outskirts of Longmont in the middle of nowhere :). Actually the ostensible purpose for my visit this summer will be a roadtrip with a friend from Fort Collins who lives here in Boston, who's going to teach a month long summer course at Front Range community college. So I'm taking here there, hanging out in the area for a few days, then going on to the west coast.

Someone asked why I like Boulder by Ofer Inbar

Apr 25, 2006 | rating: 9.5 | comments: 12

Ofer Inbar Apr 25, 2006, 5:48pm EDT

Ahah, I always thought your name indicated you were a yankee living in California. Didn't realize you meant the opposite :) Though if you live only a mile from Long Island Sound, you're not really in yankee territory as far as my neighbors are concerned :)

Yeah, do go visit Boulder! I'll next be there (briefly) in early July.

The Pearl Street Mall is similarly fun to wander as some of the main streets in Santa Cruz, looking for quirky businesses and street performers. And instead of the beach, boardwalk, and amusement park, you can walk a few blocks past the end of the mall and there's a trailhead into the mountains. It doesn't take long to get a good view of the city from the foothills.

Speed Kills? by James Joyner

Apr 25, 2006 | rating: 10 | comments: 5

Ofer Inbar Apr 25, 2006, 12:24pm EDT

Those multi-button instrument panels that require drivers to take their eyes off the road simply to change stations on the stereo are clearly a significant safety problem.

How frustrated I was when I had my last stereo installed - the only one I could find after a month of searching that had the features I waned (all I wanted was one that had a cassette deck and connected to a CD/mp3 changer in the trunk). Whoever designed the thing clearly never actually used car stereos on road trips. It's the most idiotic user interface, worse than I'd ever imagined. For months I often just didn't do things like change CDs, until I reached a red light or a straight and car-free stretch of road, because I couldn't find the right buttons without looking.

Speed Kills? by James Joyner

Apr 25, 2006 | rating: 10 | comments: 5

Ofer Inbar Apr 25, 2006, 12:21pm EDT

The problem, however, is that traffic law enforcement long ago ceased to be motivated primarily by public safety. The point of radar guns, red light cameras, and all the rest is revenue generation.

A common complaint, but I've never seen solid evidence of it. Whenever I read anything actually intended for police department internal reading, or policy development, they're always talking about what tactics will make people less likely to speed, or promote safer speeds, etc. And I've certainly seen state police departments send cars out in fog or similar bad weather, to simply drive the speed limit on highways, which gets everyone nearby to keep to the limit.

Criticising their tactics is one thing, but criticising their motives is another. It's a plausible criticism, but is it backed up by evidence?

GOP Party Unity: Should President Bush Become President Moe? by Joe Gandelman

Apr 24, 2006 | comments: 2

Ofer Inbar Apr 24, 2006, 11:55pm EDT

This is a fun post :) But, it's not about election reform or voting rights issues, and I'd like to keep that group mostly focused on the topic.

There Is A Way To Edit Comments by George Corneliussen

Apr 21, 2006 | rating: 8.9 | comments: 43

Ofer Inbar Apr 24, 2006, 1:57am EDT

From some of the comments I read here, it sounds like it would be very useful to have a "Preview" button when you post comments, so you can preview what your comment looks like before you click "Post".

How can I quickly find you? by Magi the magical poet is riding the wind again

Apr 22, 2006 | rating: 10 | comments: 11

Ofer Inbar Apr 24, 2006, 1:53am EDT

It would be useful to have a way to view the latest articles published, in simple reverse chronological order. We already have "recent articles" by tag, by group, or by person, but we don't have a global "recent articles" on www.gather.com's front page.

Cow-and-Saki by Anita D.

Apr 22, 2006 | rating: 9.7 | comments: 12

Ofer Inbar Apr 23, 2006, 2:25am EDT

ouch! heh :)

Phoenix Rises (Again) on Global Warming by Laurie David

Apr 17, 2006 | rating: 10 | comments: 8

Ofer Inbar Apr 23, 2006, 2:15am EDT

There's a move afoot, which I support. to "re-brand" global warming to climate crisis.

People found, through polling, that "global warming" just doesn't alarm people as much as it should, because it sounds warm and fluffy. It makes people who aren't familiar with the subject think, "oh, it'll get a little warmer". They focus on the small average rise in temperature, and it doesn't sound so catastrophic.

Those of us who pay attention to this issue know it could be quite catastrophic, but the term "global warming" doesn't capture that. Storms, rising sea levels, heat waves, droughts... "climate crisis" makes it clearer what we're so worried about. So let's start the transition, by using the term "climate crisis" whenever we talk about global warming. Eventually, it'll be recognized enough that we'll be able to stop saying global warming.

Indeed, the web site for Al Gore's movie is climatecrisis.net

Kerry Opposes Primary Plan by California Yankee

Apr 22, 2006 | rating: 10 | comments: 16

Ofer Inbar Apr 22, 2006, 7:46pm EDT

Yankee: Are suggesting preference voting in presidential primaries?

Well, I'd love that, but that's not what I was suggesting in my comment here. How we vote in the presidential primaries doesn't have much impact on how open the process is to third parties, one way or the other. I'm suggesting instant runoff voting in the general election.

(But yes, having it in the presidential primaries would be a very very good thing, and I've suggested that too, at other times and in other places)

Kerry Opposes Primary Plan by California Yankee

Apr 22, 2006 | rating: 10 | comments: 16

Ofer Inbar Apr 22, 2006, 7:44pm EDT

Edward: Don't make the mistake of conflating a candidate with an action by a campaign staffer. Unless you think Kerry or his campaign manager knew about that incident where you got kicked off the blog, chances are, they had no idea. It's entirely possible they would have handled it differently. Every large campaign has a lot of staff and many of them make a lot of mistakes. You can say they reflect on the candidate, but unless you can draw the connection between the candidate's direction to his staff and the action you don't like, it's too tenuous.

Kerry Opposes Primary Plan by California Yankee

Apr 22, 2006 | rating: 10 | comments: 16

Ofer Inbar Apr 22, 2006, 3:46pm EDT

P.S. Instant runoff voting would open the electoral process to smaller parties.

Personally I don't believe in the efficacy of small parties, given our political system. I think a much more practical and effective way of pursuing one's political goals is to work within one of the two major parties. But that's my personal choice, which I'm happy to argue the merits of. I strongly support letting third parties compete fairly. At the very least, they provide something on the ballot for people who have neither the time nor interest to actually participate in the process, but still want something to vote for on election day.

Did you see my flyer about IRV? (It's Massachusetts-centric because I made it for the state party convention last year)

Kerry Opposes Primary Plan by California Yankee

Apr 22, 2006 | rating: 10 | comments: 16

Ofer Inbar Apr 22, 2006, 3:41pm EDT

Yeah, I do think this is a sign he is planning to run again. On the other hand, on the substance of it, I also think the primary calendar is broken, and the fix proposed by some DNC members referred to here doesn't fix it.

We could have the primaries all on the same day, nationwide. Instead, we have them on a different day in each state. What's the goal? To let small states play a role, to give candidates a chance to campaign harder in each state so their voters learn about the candidate, to make more opportunities for retail politics... fine, all good goals. Let's put together a primary calendar that best meets them!

The two big problems with 2004's primary calendar, IMO, were:
1. So many primaries are just 1 week apart or less, that each one is dependent on and partly determined by the media from the previous one. In effect, that meant Iowa was everything, beause it started an unstoppable week-to-week cascade of Kerry wins. Dean had a shot in New Hampshire, and if he'd won, or come close, then we'd have had a cascade of Dean vs. Kerry primaries. Realistically, I don't think there was much opportunity for any other state to matter in 2004, because of this.

2. Many states vote after the decision is effectively already made. Even if we hadn't had the week-to-week cascade, by the time the Super Tuesday states voted in early March, it would have been all over. What good does it do Kansas to hold caucuses long after California, New York, Massachusetts, Florida, Texas, Connecticut, Washington, and Michigan have already voted?

For a good primary calendar, I suggest:
1. Start with very small states (like NH) whose delegate counts don't really matter, and don't move on to the big states until all the small states are done.

2. Leave at least two weeks between each primary date (though two states voting on the same date, especially if they're nearby, is a fine idea).

We could have a trickle of small primaries and caucuses from January through April, then a big blowout with all the big states voting on the same day in May. That would satisfy almost everyone's legitimate goals. Every state would matter. We'd have a short primary season. There would be plenty of time for retail politics in the small states.